Mission: Malaysia

It's hard to believe, but our time with the readers is past the half-way point now. Time has flown! For these next two and half weeks, we will be trying to spend every waking moment with the church members and/or the readers. We had a meeting this morning and roughly planned about 4 or 5 special outings that we will invite readers and church members to attend with us. Haha, by the time we get back to the U.S, we will probably be desperately craving some "alone time," but we feel that since our time here is so limited, we must pack in as many outreach activites as we possibly can. Pray that we can use these last 16 days in KL wisely and effectively.

The hardest part about doing LST work is that about the time you begin to feel close to your readers, it's time to go home! That is definitely the case for me. On Tuesday, I had a reader who opened up and shared with me that she had been thinking about finding a Christian church to visit for awhile now because churches seem like such peaceful places to her. She asked how long I had attended church and why I choose to go, and I got to share some of my spiritual autobiography with her. There's a part of me that would love to stay here for a long time and be her companion as she begins her spiritual journey, but I know that God has only given me these next two and half weeks with her. I will have to plant the seed and trust somone else to water it. Of course there will still be e-mails and occasional phone calls, but I will still have to give up my desire to "control" this situation and leave her to God's good care. I am thankful that God has given me a treasure in this broken jar of clay that I can shine for Him, and that He has allowed me to cross paths with so many different people all over the world so that I can be blessed by each one of them. Pray for this reader! I know these next 2 weeks will be a very special time for her. (Ok, I'm already tearing up. I'll probably be a mess by the time I leave!)

For these next few days, pray that we will really be able to become friends with the readers and be able to finish strong. Particularly these past few days we've noticed that readers have not been able to come because of schoolwork and mid-terms (and one day a huge downpour of rain put a big dent in our attendance.) It's obvious that Satan is providing a lot of distractions and excuses. Pray against this! Pray for us as we come home, report on our experiences, and integrate ourselves back into ministries in the U.S., accepting new challenges. Pray for Loraine and I as we will be looking for employment as soon as we arrive.

We also look foward to hearing how God has worked in each of your lives this summer! We've already heard some powerful stories from Brazil, Austrailia, Hong Kong, Honduras, Thailand and of course, various locations in the good 'ol USA. How awesome that we serve a God who is active in the lives of people all over the world.=)

P.S.--Will the person who signed our blog as "blog blog blog" reveal his/her identity? I think I know who you are and I might be able to win a bet!=)

posted by crittermer @ 12:08 PM